FRIENDS,  SOCIETY  OF. 
Address. 


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i^N    ADDRESS 


OP   THE 


REPRESENTATIVES 


OF   THK 


Religious  Society  of  Friends, 


FOR 


PENNSYLVANIA,  NEW  JERSEY,  AND  DELAWARE, 

To  their  Fellow-Citizeias, 


ON  THK  r>F   <iF 


INTOXICATING  DRINKS. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
TO  BE  HAD  AT  FRIENDS'  BOOK-STORE, 

No.  304  AKCH  STREET. 


^N    ADDRESS 


REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS,  FOR  PENNSYL- 
VANIA  NEW  JERSEY,  AND  DELAWARE,  TO   THEIR   FELLOW-CITIZENS, 

ON  THE 

USE  OF  INTOXICATING  DRINKS. 


AMONG  all  the  evils  that  have  resulted  from  the  unbridled  lustf^ « 
"of  mankind,  we  believe  that  to  no  one  source  can  there  bf 
traced  more  of  crime  and  wretchedness,  in  their  varied  phases,  than 
to  the  indulgence  in  intoxicating  drinks.  Practical  evidences  of 
this  are  to  be  seen  on  every  hand.  They  have  been  pictured  in 
colors,  none  too  strong,  by  the  pens  of  ready  writers,  and  the  tongues 
of  earnest  men  and  women,  who  have  labored  to  inform  the  igno- 
rant, to  alarm  those  who  were  being  drawn  into  the  dangerous 
snare,  and,  if  possible,  to  reclaim  those  who  have  become  the  vic- 
tims of  intemperance. 

Were  it  the  object  of  the  present  address  to  recount  but  a  few 
among  the  many  instances  of  the  blighted  hopes  of  loving  parents, 
of  the  wretchedness  and  shame  endured  by  devoted  wives  and 
innocent  children ;  were  we  to  attempt  to  estimate  the  heavy  bur- 
dens which  have  been  entailed  upon  the  community,  in  giving 
relief  to  the  neglected  family  of  the  drunkard ;  in  providing  a 
police  force,  which  is  mainly  necessary  for  protecting  his  sober 
fellow-citizens  from  his  acts  of  violence ;  or  the  courts,  which  are 
largely  occupied  in  hearing  and  disposing  of  the  charges  that  may 
be  brought  against  him ;  or  the  jails  that  are  mainly  needed  to 
confine  and  punish  him  for  his  riotous  doing ;  were  we  to  dwell 
upon  the  loss  to  the  same  community,  that  has  resulted  from 
wasted  health  and  talents,  which  would  otherwise  have  fitted  men 
for  posts  of  honor  and  usefulness,  we  should  only  be  reiterating 
what  has  been  often  well  said,  and  concerning  w^hich  little  has 
been  left  for  us  to  add  that  could  present  in  any  new  or  stronger 
light  the  direful  results  of  intemperance. 

While  desiring  not  to  burden  our  readers  unnecessarily  ^\-ith 
the  array  of  fear^l  statistics,  from  various  reliable  sources,  which 

1 


2  Address  on  the  Use  of  Intoxicating  Drinks. 

might  readily  be  introduced,  we  are  also  aware  of  the  %ct  thai 
men  are  prone' to  forget  or  ignore  those  pubhc  evils  with  which 
they  have  grown  familiar,  and  which,  from  their  very  nature, 
they  may  have  come  to  regard  as  inevitable.  We  may  be  al- 
lowed, therefore,  to  call  attention  to  a  fcAV  statements  of  a  gen 
eral  character,  which  cannot  fail  to  impress  us  all  with  the  alarm- 
ing extent  which  intemperance  has  reached,  and  the.  deep  hold  it 
f  Oi^i^s  gained  upon  the  community. 

^4      1     /      As  compared  with  human  slavery  in  our  own  country,  —  by 
■  ^^JjXf     I  which  but  one-tenth  of  its  population  was  thereby  brought  into 
1  bondage,  and  less  than  one-half  its  territory  directly  aftected, — 
\  the  scourge  of  intemperance  enters  almost  every  town  and  ham- 
Met  in  the  land,  and  destroys  not  only  the  bodies  but  the  souls 
of  men. 

In  the  late  war  our  nation  is  said  to  have  sacrificed  more  than 

,a  million  of  lives  and  three  billions  of  dollars.     To  support  the 

liquor  traffic,  it  is  computed,  from  authentic  sources,  that  the 

•.  people  of  the  United  States  expend  annually  six  hundred  mil- 

"  lions  of  dollars,  and  waste  untold  wealth  besides  by  the  impovcr 

ishment  of  her  citizens  and  the  destruction  of  their  health. 

Noah  Davis,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  York, 
said,  in  a  public  speech  lately  delivered  by  him,  "  That  habits  of 
intemperance  are  the  chief  cause  of  crime  is  the  testimony  of  all 
judges  of  large  experience.  It  is  established  beyond  argument, 
by  official  statistics,  by  the  experience  of  courts,  and  by  the  ob- 
.servations  of  enlightened  philanthropists,  that  the  prevalence  of 
intemperance  in  every  country  is  the  standard  by  which  its  crimes 
may  be  mea.sured." 

The  report  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  for  Massachusetts 
for  1869  says,  "The  proportion  of  crime  traceable  to  this  great 
vice  must  be  set  down,  a.s  heretofore,  at  not  less  than  four-fifths;" 
and  the  Inspectors  of  the  State  Prison,  in  1868,  gave  the  same 
proportion. 

Judge  Allison,  of  Philadelphia,  said  in  a  speech  delivered  at 
a  public  meeting,  in  1872,  "  Intemperance  is  upon  our  right  hand 
and  left;  on  the  streets — north,  south,  east,  and  west — we  see  the 
lures  to  destruction.  There  are  few  people  who  see  the  practical 
evil  as  we  see  it  in  the  criminal  courts  of  this  city.  There  we 
can  trace  four-fifths  of  the  crimes  that  are  committed,  to  the  in- 
fluence of  rum ;  there  is  not  one  case  in  twenty,  where  a  man  is 
tried  for  his  life,  in  which  rum  is  not  the  direct  or  indirect  cause 
of  the  murder ;  rum  and  blood  go  hand  in  hand," 

The  city  of  Philadelphia  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  made 


'A 


u^f 


Temperate  Drinking  and  the  Medical  Use  of  Alcohol.  3 

a  special  prey  to  the  ravages  of  tbe  liquor  traffic.  The  restrictions 
imposed  bj  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  with  respect  to  the  opening 
of  taverns  and  granting  licenses  for  the  sale  of  drink  in  other 
counties,  do  not  apply  to  Philadeli)hia ;  and  the  special  laws  en- 
acted on  this  subject  for  that  city  have  been  so  modified  from 
time  to  time,  that  now  there  is  no  barrier  to  any  man  of  even  the 
lowest  reputation  opening  a  liquor  saloon,  provided  only  he  can 
pay  the  paltry  sum  of  fifty  dollars  per  annum.  The  result  is 
that  there  are  now  more  than  five  thousand  licensed  places  for 
vending  this  poison  among  the  people,  the  most  of  which  afford 
no  accommodation  to  the  public  as  inns  or  lodging-houses.  They 
are  mere  traps  for  the  young  and  unwary,  lounging-places  for  the 
idler  and  drunkard,  where  gamblers  ply  their  trade,  and  broils  and 
murders  are  bred  by  the  maddening  draught. 

Many  of  the  moral  class  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  who 
are  accustomed  to  look  with  complacency  upon  the  character  and 
prosperity  of  their  city,  are,  we  fear,  closing  their  eyes  to  the  true 
state  of  its  population  in  regard  to  this  grave  subject.  What  can 
support  the  vast  array  of  drinking  places  that  stand  so  thickly  on 
the  more  central  streets,  and  at  nearly  every  comer  of  the  city 
suburbs,  but  an  enormous  consumption  of  liquor,  that  must  seri- 
ously aft'ect  the  majority  of  the  people  and  fearfully  dpbauch  their 
social  condition?  What  but  this  has  called  for  such  great  in- 
crease of  room  in  the  prisons,  houses  of  correction  and  of  refuge, 
almshouses  and  police  stations,  within  the  past  twenty  years  ?  and 
which,  in  a  large  measure,  has  cast  nearly  fifty  thousand  people 
on  the  charity  of  the  public  every  winter  in  Philadelphia  for  the 
last  five  years ! 


Temperate  Drinking  and  the  Medical  Use  of  Alcohol. 

We  believe  much  intemperance^riginates  iii  the  use  of  liquors, 
at  first  in  a  moderafe~way,  eitlier  under~tKe~pTea  of  ill-health,  or 
that  they  are  harmless  "and  valuable  toT&e~B^IHraTr  systera,~wiien 
used  in  quantities  that  will  imt  infoxip.ite.  E>;pccially  is- the  use 
of  malt  liquors  and  native  wines  iiieiea.-i:;.!;  on  ;la>e  pleas.  It 
may  be  safely  as.'<erted  that  habits  of  jiioderate  drinjdng-iilmost 
uniyerja^l}^  precede^excesg^ence  total  abstinence  is  the  or^ly  f^ff - 
means~of  avoiding^  intemperance^  The  appetite  for  stimulatiiiff 
ttHnks~ait»estTiivarraBly  grows  with  their  use,  so  that  no  onewho 
begins  lo  partake  of  them,  even  temperately,  can  foretell  hbw 
strong  the  craving  for  them  may  become.  '''.^  ^  ■■  ^••■^ 

-^  iioiiouboiq 

Modem  investigations,  made  by  eminent  scientific  and -iticdical 
men,  respecting  the  effects  of  alcohol  on  the  animal  frame,  have 
disclosed  results  and  established  conclusions  which  >go  far.t<>idife- 


4        The  Duty  of  the  Christian  Church  m  Applying  Remedies. 

sipate  many  of  tlie  popular  ideas  that  have  been  entertained  as 
to  the  value  of  this  stimulant,  either  as  food  or  medicine. 

Were  it  within  the  scope  of  the  present  address,  we  might  cite 
largely  from  various  acknowledged  authorities  in  support  of  this 
view:  those  who  desire  to  pursue  further -this  interesting  and  im- 
portant branch  of  the  subject,  may  be  referred  to  treatises  by  Dr. 
Benj.  W.  Richardson,  of  London;  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie,  Baron 
Liebig,  Dr.  Liebermiester,  Dr.  Henry  Thompson,  and  many 
others. 

The  prescription  of  alcoholic  remedies  or  tonics,  by  the  medi- 
cal profession,  is  fraught  with  grave  responsibilities,  which  we 
apprehend  are  too  often  lightly  assumed  by  them.  How  many 
persons,  of  previously  temperate  habits,  have  contracted  an  appe- 
tite for  strong  drinks  when  recovering  from  illness,  through  this 
insidious  avenue  to  temptation,  and  have  finally  found  it  the  high- 
way to  ruin  and  death !  The  respectability,  the  professional  skill 
and  authority  so  readily  accorded  to  the  physician,  all  combine 
to  give  force  to  his  advice  in  such  cases,  and  tend  to  disarm  his 
patients  of  those  wholesome  fears  of  entering  on  the  dangerous 
experiment  which  they  would  perhaps  otherwise  have  enter- ^ 
tained.  We  would  therefore  urge  upon  medical  men  to  consider 
well  the  fearful  moral  risks  and  the  doubtful  physical  advantages 
involved  in  the  use  of  such  remedies,  and  avoid  them  wherever 
possible. 


What  is  the  Dutj'  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Applying 
Reme<lies  for  Intemperance? 

Und^r  a  sense,  then,  of  the  magnitude  of  this  desolating 
moral  evil  in  our  midst,  which,  while  endangering  the  present 
and  eternal  welfare  of  tens  of  thousands,  is  affecting  injuriously 
all  classes  of  society,  the  query  most  pertinently  and  urgently 
presents  itself,  what  remedies  are  being  adopted  to  meet  the  case, 
and  are  all  the  agencies,  which  might  be  usefully  employed,  en- 
listed in  what  should  be  a  common  cause  ? 

Very  much  we  know  has  been  well  done  by  the  friends  of 
temperance,  who  have  devoted  their  time,  their  talents,  and  their 
means  in  the  earnest  desire  to  bring  about  a  reformation.  But 
such  is  the  craving  for  the  stimulus  afforded  by  alcoholic  drinks, 
and  so  enormous  are  the  pecuniary  profits  growing  out  of  their 
production  and  sale,  that  we  see  to-day  legislatures  and  high 
officials  pandering  to  the  demands  of  the  liquor  interests;  while 
intemperance,  with  all  its  fearful  train,  is  sweeping  through  the 
land,  and  every  organized  effort  to  check  its  ravages  must  be 


The  Duty  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Applying  Remedies.       5 

admitted  to  have  been  but  in  small  measure  successful.  To  the 
seriously  minded  among  our  fellow-citizens,  who  are  not  to  be 
classed  among  the  tempted  or  the  fallen,  or  supposed  to  be 
directly  implicated  in  spreading  the  evil  in  question,  we  feel  at 
this  time  called  to  offer  a  few  words  of  earnest  Christian  entreaty. 

As  believers  in  the  religion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our 
thoughts  first,  and  naturally,  turn  to  those  who,  like  ourselves, 
are  professing  His  name,  and  seeking  to  spread  the  blessings  of 
His  Gospel.  For  we  have  felt  that  upon  the  professing  Church, 
as  such,  there  are  resting  plain  duties  and  heavy  responsibilities 
in  connection  with  the  important  question  before  us.  Let  us 
bear  in  mind  that  the  members  of  Christ's  Church  are  emphati- 
cally called  unto  holiness :  (1  Thess.  iv.  7;)  that  our  Lord  has 
likened  them  to  "  the  salt  of  the  earth,"  and  "  the  light  of  the 
world ; "  and  that  their  influence  and  their  example  are  among 
the  means  which  He  designs  largely  to  use  in  promoting  the 
spreading  of  His  kingdom.  The  more  therefore  there  is  of  dedi- 
cation of  heart  and  purity  of  life  among  these,  the  more  we  may 
believe  they  will  be  made  "  sanctified  and  meet  for  the  Master's 
use,  and  prepared  unto  every  good  work."  (2  Tim.  ii.  21.)  A  mani- 
fest duty  of  the  Church  lies  first  within  its  own  borders,  carefully 
searching  out  the  "abominable  thing,"  and  never  resting  until 
its  skirts  are  clear  of  it.  This  will  lead  to  earnest,  faithful  labor 
among  those  of  its  own  members  who  have  fallen  into  the  snare 
of  the  tempter,  or  who  may  be  only  walking,  as  it  were,  in  "  slip- 
pery places."  The  young  and  inex*perienced  will  therefore  es- 
pecially claim  the  watchful  care  of  their  fellow -members.  There 
will  be  felt  also  a  godly  jealousy  lest  any  claiming  church  fellow- 
ship shall  be  found  contributing  to  the  spread  of  intemperance, 
either  by  the  manufacture  or  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
If  the  safety  of  all  consists  in  putting  the  temptation  wholly 
away,  can  that  calling  b€f  safe  for  him  who  makes,  or  him  who 
deals  out,  the  dangerous  article  to  his  fellows?  And  does  he 
stand  guiltless  in  the  sight  of  Infinite  Justice,  who  fills  his 
pockets  with  gains  made  foul  by  the  wretchedness  he  is  thus 
directly  promoting  ? 

We  cannot  but  regard  it  as  a  perversion  of  morals,  to  receive 
into  our  homes  as  companions  for  ourselves  and  our  children  the 
rich  producer  and  vendor  of  ardent  spirits,  while  spurning  from 
our  doors,  as  beneath  notice,  the  poor  victim  to  its  use.  We 
cannot  separate  them ;  they  are  upon  one  plane  of  respectability ; 
and  until  men  and  women  in  their  individual  capacity,  and  as 
members  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  are  willing  to  withdraw  them- 
selves from  every  compromising  association  Avith  those  who  sell 
as  well  as  with  those  who  use  spirituous  liquors,  their  testimony 
will  continue  to  be  only  a  weak  and  one-sided  protest.     Is  it 


6       J%e  Duty  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Applying  Remedies. 

poverty  only  that  makes  rum-drinking  disgraceful?  Can  wealth 
impart  either  to  a  business  or  a  habit  respectability?  We  desire 
therefore  in  all  Christian  tenderness,  yet  in  Christian  honesty,  to 
ask,  whether  a  professing  Church  is  performing  the  duty  which 
it  owes  to  itself,  or  is  holding  up  the  light  which  it  should  do  in 
the  world,  while  retaining  in  its  membership  those  who  are  thus 
bringing  a  reproach  upon  their  profession,  and  thereby  contribut 
ing  largely  to  the  weakness  of  the  body,  when  called  to  deal  with 
intemperance  either  within  or  without  its  pale?  Again,  when 
we  recall  the  declaration  of  Holy  Writ,  that  drunkards  shall  not 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,  (1  Cor.  vi.  10,)  how  strong  is  the  ap- 
peal to  the  heart  of  the  Christian,  to  use  all  his  or  her  influence 
in  rescuing  a  fellow-being  who  may  have  follen  under  a  tempta- 
tion that,  if  continued  in,  may  result  in  the  ruin  of  soul  and 
body.  It  is  the  privilege  of  the  Christian  to  know  much  of 
the  efficacy  of  the  Redeemer's  grace,  whereby,  as  he  has  himself 
yielded  to  its  convicting,  restraining,  and  sanctifying  power,  it 
has  proved  sufficient  for  him  in  seasons  of  temptation  and  weak- 
ness, and  from  personal  experience  he  can  commend  it  to  others. 
As  the  "  Friend  of  sinners,"  Christ  has  become  precious  to  his 
soul,  and  he  has  rejoiced  in  the  blessed  assurance  that  lie  came 
"to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  (Luke  xix.  10.) 
Such  are  peculiarly  fitted  to  ]")lead  with  the  tempted  or  the  fallen 
to  yield  to  the  visitations  of  a  Saviour's  love,  as  He  knocks  at 
the  door  of  the  heart,  and  seeks  to  make  of  even  the  hardened 
sinner  "  a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus." 

As  we  recall  the  many  instances  in  which  the  best  resolutions 
have  failed,  the  most  solemn  pledges  have  been  broken,  the 
earnest  pleadings  of  anxious  friends  have  been  disregarded,  and 
the  strongest  arguments  proved  unavailing  with  the  victims  of 
intemperance,  we  believe  the  one  effectual  remedy  for  these 
must  ever  be  found  in  the  heart-changi«g,  heart-cleansing  })ower 
of  the  Grace  of  God. 

Fully  believing  in  the  Scripture  declaration,  that  "  for  this 
purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested,  that  He  might  destroy 
the  works  of  the  devil,"  (1  John  iii.  8,)  and  that  "whosoever  is 
born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin,"  (L  John  iii.  9,)  we  place  this 
doctrine  of  the  new  birth  through  Christ  Jesus  at  the  basis  of 
all  personal  and  ecclesiastical  reformation.  No  radical  and  abid- 
ing reform  can  be  looked  for,  unless  the  heart  is  changed  through 
faith  in,  and  oV)edience  to,  that  grace  which  comes  by  Jesus 
Christ,  and  was  j)urchji.sed  by  Ilis  atoning  blood.  Therefore  it  is 
that  we  would  commend  all  to  this  Grace  of  God  that  brings 
salvation,  and  has  appeared  unto  all  men,  as  the  Scripture  testi- 
fies, "teaching  them  that,  denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts, 
they  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present 


The  Duitj  of  the  Chilian  Church  in  Applying  Remedies.        7 

world."  (Titus  ii.  11, 12.)  Yielding  their  hearts  to  this  blessed  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  men  would  be  enabled  in  His  light  to  see  their 
lost  condition  as  sinners,  and  would  receive  the  gift  of  repentance 
toward  God  and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  wash- 
ing of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  would  be 
shed  on  them  abundantly  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  and 
strength  would  be  given  by  Him  to  walk  in  the  pathway  of  holi- 
ness and  self-denial.  We  are  assured  by  an  inspired  Apostle 
that  God  is  faithful  who  will  not  suffer  men  to  be  tempted  above 
that  they  are  able,  but  will  with  the  temptation  also  make 
a  way  to  escape,  that  they  may  be  able  to  bear  it.  (1  Cor.  jc.  13.) 
But  the  escape  must  come  in  the  way  Christ  himself  has  pointed 
out,  who  says,  "  Watch  and  pray,  lest  ye  enter  into  temptation.'' 
(Mark  xiv.  38.)  This  watchful,  prayerful  state  is  the  only  place  of 
safety  for  the  strong  as  well  as  the  weak,  and  most  apt  is  that 
injunction  of  our  Lord^  "  What  I  say  unto  you,  I  say  unto  all, 
Watch!"     (Mark  xiii.  37.) 

Thus  being  grafted  into  Christ,  the  living  vine,  and  abiding 
in  Him,  He  assures  us  that,  "  Ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it 
shall  be  done  unto  you."  (John  xv.  7.)  Hence  the  Church,  so 
composed  of  living  members,  is  qualified,  both  in  the  closet  and 
its  collective  capacity,  to  pray  in  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  spread 
and  power  of  tae  Redeemer's  kingdom.  "I  will  therefore,"  says 
the  Apostle  Paul,  "  that  men  pray  everj^where,  lifting  up  holy 
hands,  without  wrath  and  doubting."  (1  Timothy  ii.  8.)  Also, 
"that  first  of  all,  supplications,  prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of 
thanks,  be  made  for  all  men."  (1  Timothy  ii.  1.)  Oh,  that  this 
spirit  of  prayer  might  more  and  more  prevail  in  the  professing 
Church !  Such  weapons,  we  may  be  assured,  would  be  mighty, 
through  God,  to  the  pulling  down  of  even  the  strongholds  of  in- 
temperance. 

There  is  a  practical  work  also  which  may  be  done  by  the 
Christian  Church,  in  laboring  among  its  fellow-members  in  pri- 
vate, as  any  who  arc  spiritual  may  feel  their  hearts  drawn  in 
restoring  love  to  warn  the  erring  and  tempted  of  their  danger,  and 
exhort  them  not  to  touch  "  the  unclean  thing."  All  connection 
with  the  traffic  in  any  kind  of  alcoholic  drinks,  or  renting  build- 
ings to  those  who  intend  so  to  use  them,  should  be  discouraged 
and  avoided.  Frequenting  taverns,  or  other  places  where  liquor 
is  sold,  unless  absolutely  essential  for  other  purposes,  v'should  be 
shunned  ;  and  especially  ought  parents  to  guard  their  sons  against 
familiarity  with  them. 

In  the  exercise  of  a  personal  influence  for  good,  much  must 
depend  upon  our  own  careful  and  consistent  walking,  and.  with 
this  in  view,  we  shall  ueces.s:irily  find  ourselves  often  called  to 


8        The  Duty  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Applying  Remedies. 

j)ractise  self-denial  for  the  sake  of  others ;  for  shall  we  be  clear 
in  the  sight  of  a  God  of  infinite  purity  and  justice,  if  by  our  in- 
dulgence we  give  any  encouragement  to  a  fellow-creature  to  par- 
take of  that  which,  however  harmless  to  us,  may  be  spiritual 
death  to  him  ?  The  privation,  in  most  cases,  would  be  very  tri- 
fling to  ourselves,  while  the  possible  consequences  to  him  miglit  be 
ruinous.  How  fearful  the  responsibility  in  such  a  case,  and  how 
solemn  the  thought,  of  finding  in  the  last  great  day  of  account 
that  a  brother's  downfall  was  traceable  to  our  unfaithfulness  or 
thoughtless  indulgence  I  We  have  said  that  the  amount  of  self- 
denial  would  generally  not  be  great.  If  it  is  felt  to  be  great,  we 
may  be  sure  that  we  ourselves  are  not  quite  out  of  the  reach  of 
danger.  In  this  connection,  we  would  remark  that  the  use  of 
spirituous  liquors  for  cuhnary  purposes  in  the  household  is  un- 
necessary, and  might  be  entirely  dispensed  with.  Children,  and 
those  in  our  employ,  would  be  thus  far  relieved  from  a  temptation 
to  which  they  might  otherwise  be  exposed  under  our  own  roofs. 
And  remembering  the  apostolic  injunction,  to  "abstain  from  all 
appearance  of  evil,"  (1  Thess.  v.  22,)  we  should  not  overlook  what, 
to  some,  might  seem  a  matter  of  very  trifling  importance,  when 
seeking  temporary  accommodations  for  ourselves  or  our  families 
away  from  home,  endeavoring,  if  only  for  example's  sake,  to  select  as 
our  boarding-places  or  eating-houses  those  from  which  intoxicating 
liquors  are  known  to  be  excluded.  If  we  are  alive,  as  we  should  be, 
to  the  danger  as  well  as  the  best  interests  of  those  around  us,  these, 
or  other  httle  acts  of  self-denial  in  the  same  direction,  may  often, 
unwittingly  to  ourselves,  exert  a  silent  influence  for  good,  while 
they  will  bring  their  own  reward  of  quietness  and  peace  within. 

Is  there  not,  therefore,  as  regards  individual  Christians,  as  well 
as  the  professing  Church  in  all  its  branches,  a  manifest  and  most- 
fitting  duty  which  is  loudly  calling  them  to  put  forth  their  power- 
ful influence  for  the  suppression  of  an  evil,  which  is  not  only 
spreading  desolation  and  wickedness  throughout  our  own  land, 
but  causing  the  very  name  of  our  common  Christianity  to  be  a  by- 
word and  reproach  among  the  heathen?  And  if,  in  order  to  fit  the 
Church  for  this  great  duty,  the  cleansing  of  her  own  hands  is  first 
called  for,  we  earnestly  desire  that,  as  in  the  fear  of  the' Lord  and 
with  an  eye  to  His  honor,  this  may  be  brought  about. 

As  representing  the  religious  society  of  Friends  in  this  part  of 
our  country,  we  may  be  allowed  to  press  the  above  considerations 
the  more  earnestly  upon  our  fellow  Christians  of  other  persuasiuus, 
because  we  have  long  since  felt  called  to  see  to  it,  that  our  mem- 
bers are  clear  of  the  use  of  spirituous  lifjuors  as  a  drink,  and  that 
none  are  retained  in  religious  connection  with  the  society  wlio 
either  manufacture  or  sell  them.  With  this  object  in  view,  we 
may  state  that  committees  are  yearly  appointed  by  the  proper 


Mestrictive  or  Prohibitory  Legislation.  0 

meetings  for  discipline,  whose  business  it  is  to  inquire  of  every 
inale  member  whether  he  has  partaken  of  any  spirituous  liquors 
as  a  drink  during  the  previous  twelvemonth,  or  thus  offered  them 
to  others.  In  the  few  cases  in  which  the  answer  is  affirmative, 
earnest,  brotherly  persuasion  is  used  to  induce  the  abandonment 
altogether  of  an  indulgence  so  full  of  danger  to  themselves,  and 
so  wanting  in  right  example  to  others. 

The  committees  then  report  to  the  respective  bodies  appoint- 
ing them  the  result  of  their  inquiry  and  labors,  but  without 
personal  allusions  or  exposure.  This  practice,  with  other  favor- 
able influences,  has  resulted  in  causing  intetnperance  to  be  al- 
most unknown  within  our  limits,  while  we  know  of  none  in 
membership  with  us  who  are  engaged  in  the  manufacture  or  sale 
of  ardent  spirits.  From  our  own  experience,  therefore,  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  patient,  faithful.  Christian  labor  with 
brethren  who  may  have  gone  astray,  will,  under  the  Divine 
blessing,  accomplish  much.  Should  each  branch  of  the  profess- 
ing Church  thus  discharge  its  duty,  first  to  itself  and  to  its  own 
members,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  way  will  be  opened  to  take 
some  decided  action,  on  the  part  .of  religious  bodies  generally, 
whereby  the  influence  of  the  whole  Christian  community  shall 
make  itself  felt,  as  it  ought  to  be,  in  relation  to  this  fruitful 
source  of  misery  and  corruption. 


B«sti'ictive  or  Prohibitory  Legislation. 

We  fully  believe  in  the  Divine  institution  of  civil  government 
among  men,  and  that  rulers  are  not  to  be  a  terror  to  good  works, \ 
but  to  evil ;  that  men  placed  in  power  are  bound  to  act  as  "  min- 
isters of  God  for  good  "  to  those  they  govern,  agreeably  with  the  / 
doctrine  of  Holy  Scripture.     That  the  State,  as  the  natural  guard/ 
ian  of  its  citizens,  has  the  right  to  restrain  or  forbid  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  beverage,  on  the  same^ 
principle  that  justifies  the  prohibition  of  the  sale  of  obscene  books 
and  pictures,  or  lottery  tickets ;  and  by  which  it  regulates  and 
restrains  the  vending  of  poisons,  gunpowder,  and  other  danger- 
ous articles.     This  right  has  been  abundantly  affirmed  by  four'' 
Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.     Judge 
Grier,  of  that  court,  remarks,  in  giving  his  opinion  in  a  certain 
case  before  him,  that  "  it  is  not  necessary  to  array  the  appalling 
statistics  of  misery,  pauperism,  and  crime  which  have  their  origin 
in  the  use  and  abuse  of  ardent  spirits.     The  police  power,  which 
is  exclusively  in  the  State,  is  competent  to  the  correction  of  these 
great  evils,  and  all  measures  of  restraint  or  prohibition  necessary 
to  eifect  that  purpose  -are  within  the  scope  of  that  authority.'' 


10  Restrictive  or  Prohibitory  Legislation. 

Judge  Catron  says,  "If  the  State  Las  the  power  of  restraint  bj' 
license  to  any  extent,  she  may  go  to  the  length  of  prohibiting 
sales  altogether."  "We  believe  the  system  of  licensing  public- 
drinking  houses  by  the  authority  of  the  State,  to  be  an  unmixed 
evil.  It  tends  to  cast  around  the  business  of  dram-selling  the 
shield  of  law,  and  to  confer  upon  it  a  fictitious  respectability, 
which  is  destructive  of  right  sentiment  in  the  unthinking  part 
of  the  community.  The  plea  that  it  produces  an  important  rev- 
enue to  the  State  or  National  Government  to  grant  a  license  to 
manufacture  or  vend  strong  drinks  is  plainly  delusive.  The 
cost  to  the  nation  or  State  at  large,  to  repair  the  losses  inflicted 
on  the  people  by  drink,  must  sink  the  paltry  revenues  its  vendors 
pay,  into  insignificance.  Statistics  show  that  it  would  be  far 
more  economical  for  the  government  to  maintain  the  liquor 
dealers  in  idleness,  and  forbid  their  trade  entirely,  than  to  receive 
all  the  taxes  they  pay  for  the  right  to  impose  the  criminals, 
the  paupers,  the  idlers,  and  the  diseased  upon  the  body  politic 
for  support.  It  is  not  just,  nor  consistent  with  the  principles  of 
our  free  government,  to  permit  one  class  of  men  thus  to  prey  on 
the  rest  of  the  community  merely  for  their  private  gain. 

The  necessary  uses  of  spirits  and  other  intoxicants  for  medic- 
inal and  mechanical  purposes,  may  be  provided  for  by  law,  under 
such  restrictions  as  will,  at  least,  greatly  curtail  the  abuse  of  them 
in  other  ways.  Such  prohibitory  laws  have  been  in  force  in 
Maine  since  1851. 

"We  quote  the  following  recent  testimony  of  five  eminent 
members  of  the  Maine  Legislature,  respecting  the  operation  of 
what  is  known  as  "  The  Maine  Liquor  Law."* 

"At  the  time  of  the  enactment  of  the  Maine  law,  the  liquor 
traffic  was  carried  on  openly  and  freely,  wholesale  and  retail,  in 
every  city,  town,  village,  and  rural  district  in  the  State.  Imine- 
diately  upon  the  enactment  of  the  law  the  open  sale  of  liquors 
ceased,  and  the  traffic  was  at  once  abandoned  by  a  very  large 
majority  of  those  who  had  been  engaged  in  it ;  and  noAV  it  is 
entirely  unknown  in  all  our  smaller  towns  and  villages,  and 
throughout  all  our  rural  districts.  The  traffic  yet  lingers  in  our 
cities  anji  larger  townSj_secretly  andon  a  small  scale,  and  igi^con- 
fined  almost  entirely  to  the  worst  part  of  our  foreign  |jopulation. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  quantity  of  liquor  now 
smuggled  into  the  state,  and  sold  in  violation  of  the  law,  is  not 
one-tenth  as  great  as  it  was  before  the  law.  This  great  change 
in  the  habits  of  the  people  procures  an  enormous  saving  in  the 
wages  of  labor,  and  in  the  resources  of  the  State,  which  were 

♦  An  A(Wrt'S3  to  the  frieiuls  of  Teniperaiice,  by  Nea!  Dow,  Lot  M.  ^Moi  roll, 
James  M.  Buzzdl,  Joshua  Nyo,  and  A.  P.  Morrell,  dated  Juno  2,  1879. 


Restrictive  or  Prohibitory  Legislation.  1 1 

Ibrmerly  so  largely  squandered,  and  Avasted  in  strong  drinks.  No 
one  who  knew  what  Maine  was  before  the  law,  and  who  knows 
what  it  has  been  since,  and  is  now,  can  fail  to  see  the  wonderful 
change  for  the  better,  in  all  its  interests,  public  and  private.  In 
1871,  an  additional  Act,  of  greater  stringency  than  any  which 
preceded  it,  was  adopted  without  a  dissenting  voice  in  either 
house,  and  at  the  session  of  1879  a  question  came  up  for  the 
modification  and  amelioration  of  the  penalties,  and  the  require- 
ments of  the  law,  which  was  promptly  defeated  by  the  emphatic 
vote  of  127  to  17.  This  latter  vote  may  be  fairly  considered  as 
marking  the  present  condition  of  public  opinion  of  this  State 
upon  the  whole  principle  and  policy  of  prohib'tion,  and  the 
determination  of  the  people  to  suppress  the  liquor  traffic." 

The  foregoing  testimony  to  the  effect  of  prohibitory  legisla- 
tion is  sustained  by  the  results  in  other  communities  where  it 
has  been  tried.  In  Massachusetts,  it  was  in  actual  force  through 
local  elections  from  the  year  1841  to  1852  with  most  beneficial 
consequences.  After  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  matter, 
the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  Legislature  reported  "the  evi- 
dence to  be  perfectly  incontrovertible,  that  the  good  order  and 
the  physical  and  moral  welfare  of  the  community  had  been  pro- 
moted by  refusing  to  license  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits ;  and  that 
although  the  laws  have  been  and  are  violated  to  some  extent 
in  different  places,  the  practice  soon  becomes  disreputable,  and 
hides  itself  from  the  public  eye,  by  shrinking  into  obscure  and 
dark  places ;  that  noisy  and  tumultuous  assemblies  in  the  street 
and  public  quarrels  cease,  where  Ifcense  is  refused ;  and  that 
pauperism  has  very  rapidly  diminished  from  the  same  cause." 
In  Vermont  a  prohibitory  law  has  existed  for  twenty-seven 
years.  In  St.  Johnsbury,  in  that  State,  where  there  is  a  popula- 
tion of  5000,  the  law  has  been  strictly  enforced ;  and  it  is  stated 
that  "  there  is  no  bar,  no  dram-shop,  no  poor,  and  no  policeman 
walks  the  streets."  Connecticut  enacted  a  prohibitory  law  in 
1854.  In  1855,  Governor  Dutton  said  in  his  annual  message  to 
tlie  General  Assembly,  "There  is  scarcely  an  open  grog-shop  in  the 
State,  and  the  jails  are  fast,  becoming  tenantless,  and  a  delightful 
air  of  security  is  everywhere  enjoyed."  But  in  1873  the  liquor 
influence  was  strong  enough  in  the  Legislature  to  substitute 
license  for  prohibition.  Tvyo  years  afterwards  the  Secretary  of 
State  declared  that  "  there  was  a  greater  increase  of  crime  in  one 
year  under  license  tlian  in  seven  under  prohibition  " 

From  the  foregoing,  and  a  multitude  of  other  examples  of  the 
practical  effects  of  wise  laws  to  control  intemperance,  we  feel 
that  we  advocate  no  visionary  theory,  but  one  that  commends 
itself  to  all  who  are  concerned  to  arrest  this  awful  scourge  in 
the  body  politic.     The  citizen  in  ca.sting  his  vote  for  candidates 


12  Restrictive  or  Prohibitory  Legislation. 

for  office  should  be  awake  to  this  important  question,  •'  Arc 
they  heartily  in  favor  of  temperance,  and  of  prohibitory  laws  to 
promote  it?  "  If  the  friends  of  temperance  generally  made  this 
a  condition  of  supporting  candidates  for  office,  we  should  soon 
find  that  political  aspirants  would  respect  their  views,  and  that 
the  apathy  now  so  prevalent  among  legislators  respecting  this 
great  question  would  be  succeeded  by  the  attention  its  merits  so 
imperatively  demand.  Whatever  doubts  may  be  entertained 
by  those  engaged  in  framing  laws,  with  regard  to  the  feasibility 
or  expediency  of  enacting  statutes  which  are  directly  prohibitory 
of  the  liquor  traffic  for  a  whole  State,  on  the  ground  of  a  lack  of 
public  sentimsnt  in  the  majority  of  all  the  people  to  sustain 
them,  there  can  be  no  objection  of  this  nature  urged  against 
local  option  laws,  whereby  townships  and  small  municipalities 
may  have  extended  to  them  the  privilege  of  protecting  them- 
selves by  a  vote  of  their  own  inhabitants  against  the  sale  of 
liquor  within  their  respective  precincts.  Such  legislation  has 
been  decided  by  the  courts  of  several  States  to  be  constitutional 
and  valid.  It  is  surely  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  our  free 
institutions,  and  aii  act.  of  simple  justice  in  a  matter  so  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  material  as  well  as  the  higher  interests 
of  every  community  to  accord  to  them  the  same  degree  of  self- 
control  as  has  long  been  recognized  and  practised  by  townships 
and  boroughs  in  regulating  public  education,  repairs  of  high- 
ways, etc.,  within  their  limits.  No  charge  of  injustice  or  party 
bias  could  be  reasonably  brought  against  a  legislator  for  advoca- 
ting such  a  law,  by  those  who  deal  in  or  use  intoxicating  drinks. 
The  advocates  of  prohibition  and  of  license  stand  on  an  equal 
footing  at  the  polls,  and  are  only  required  to  acquiesce  in  the 
will  of  the  majority. 

For  those  who  have  been  placed  by  their  fellow-citizens  in 
positions  of  authority,  whether  legislative,  executive  or  judicial, 
we  have  felt  especially  desirous  that  in  dealing  with  matters 
which  may  have  a  bearing  more  or  less  direct  upon  the  sul))ect 
under  consideration,  they  may  fully  realize  the  responsibility 
which  attaches  to  their  official  acts.  Many  are  the  influences 
tending  to  draw  them  from  the  plain  path  of  duty,  and  among 
*,hese  perhaps  none  are  stronger  than  the  fear  of  man  and  the 
desire  for  his  favor.  But  when  we  remember  the  Scripture 
declaration,  "He  that  ruleth  over  men  must  be  just,  ruling  in 
the  fear  of  God,"  (2  Sara,  xxiii.  8,)  the  source  to  which  those 
in  power  should  humbly  look  for  guidance  and  approval  is 
plainly  set  forth.  And  as  they  are  actuated  by  these  higher 
motives,  any  temj  tation  to  swerve  from  their  own  conscientious 
convictions  will  lose  its  power. 

For  those  who  have  at  heart  the  best  interests  of  our  people, 


The  Public  Press.  13 

and  who  do  in  their  public  services  remember  that  there  is  a 
God  over  all  to  whom  they  must  shortly  give  account,  we  believe 
the  time  has  come  when,  regardless  of  partisan  considerations 
or  the  loss  of  popularity,  they  should  deeply  and  conscientiously 
consider  whether  they  are  taking  that  decided  stand  which  they 
should  in  connection  with  this  pressing  question,  and  whether' 
they  are  heartily  throwing  their  influence  into  the  right  spale. 


The  Public  Press. 


Throughout  a  reading  population  like  that  of  the  United 
States,  the  Press  necessarily  exerts  a  powerful  influence,  not  only 
by  giving  expression  to  public  sentiment,  but  as  a  means  of 
moulding  that  sentiment  for  good  or  for  ill.  We  desire,  there- 
fore, that  Editors  of  newspapers  especially,  may  feel  the  deep 
responsibility  that  rests  upon  them  in  connection  Avith  the  ques- 
tion before  us.  As  chroniclers  of  the  events  of  the  day,  they 
have  it  in  their  power  to  commend  the  good  that  may  be  passing 
before  them,  and  by  their  editorial  comments  may  incidentally 
instil  noble  and  virtuous  sentirnents  into  the  minds  of  their 
■  readers ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  they  may  point  out  and  con- 
demn what  is  injurious  to  public  morals,  and  consequently  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  community.  With  the  freedom  which  is 
happily  accorded  to  the  press  in  this  country,  the  action  of  legis- 
lative bodies  and  public  officials  is  open  to  its  criticisms,  and,  as 
a  consequence,  those  who  are  holding  posts  of  authority  are 
strongly  influenced  in  their  public  acts  by  the  approval  or  the 
censure  which  they  thus  receive.  When  the  prevailing  tone  of 
the  Press,  whether  secular  or  religious,  shall  be  fearlessly  on  the 
side  of  right,  recognizing  its' duty  in  leading  and  elevating  public 
sentiment,  rather  than  obsequiously  following  it,  we  may  hope- 
fully look  for  the  happiest  results ;  and  since  the  enactment  or 
enforcement  of  wise  and  just  laws  which  would  effectually 
restrain  the  production  and  sale  of  alcoholic  liquors,  must 
depend  upon  a  corresponding  sympathy  in  the  community  at 
large,  it  can  scarcely  be  otherwise  than  that  the  daily  newspaper 
will  be  largely  instrumental  in  promoting,  or  retarding  the  legis- 
lation which  is  now  urgently  demanded.  We  desire  also  to  call 
attention  to  a  flippant,  and  even  jocose,  style  of  writing  too  com- 
mon with  newspaper  reporters  who,  when  relating  the  doings  of 
the  wretched  drunkard,  are  disposed  to  picture  the  ludicrous  side 
of  intemperance  rather  than  the  misery  and  shame  inseparable 
from  it.  We  fear  that  by  this  means  the  thoughts  of  the  reader 
are  often  turned  from  the  merits  of  a  case  in  its  graver  aspects, 


14  Woman's  Influence. 

and,  almost  unconsciously  to  himself,  he  may  come  to  regard  the 
whole  subject  of  intemperance  with  a  lamentable  indifference. 
It  is  cause  of  satisfaction  to  find  that  several  popular  periodicals 
have  of  late  opened  their  columns  to  a  free  consideration  of  the 
evil  before  us,  and  the  wisest  methods  of  dealing  with  it.  We 
can  but  trust  their  example  will  be  followed  by  others,  under  the 
conviction  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  pressing  questions  of  the 
day,  and  that  some  of  the  highest  interests  of  our  country  both 
present  and  prospective  are  involved  in  its  right  solution. 


Woman's  Influence. 


If  one  class  amongst  us  more  than  another  is  personally  inter- 
ested in  the  suppression  of  intemperance,  it  surely  is  the  women 
of  our  country.  As  we  recall  the  scenes  of  domestic  wretched- 
ness, the  heartless  neglect,  the  pining  want,  the  brutal  violence, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  many  murders  in  cold  blood,  which  are 
almost  daily  being  brought  to  light  by  the  public  press,  as  the 
doings  of  drunken  husbands  and  fathers,  we  must  believe  there 
are,  behind  all  these,  experiences  of  untold  woe  which  are  knowq 
only  to  the  silent  sufferers  and  the  all-seeing  One.  The  fortitude 
and  the  enduring  patience  with  which  these  trials  have  been  often 
borne,  are  amazing,  and  only  add  to  the  claims  which  the  sufferers 
have  upon  the  heartfelt  sympathy  of  every  right-feeling  mind. 
Earnestly  could  we  desire  that  these  might  know  the  power  of 
Divine  Grace  to  sustain  them  under  their  burdens,  and  give  them 
that  "  measure  of  wisdom  from  above,"  which  they  so  greatly 
need,  in  dealing  with  the  wanderers  and  the  fallen  ones.  Those 
of  their  sex  who  have  happily  been  spared  such  afflictions, 
should  remember  their  sisters  in  adversity,  and  may  well  be 
stirred  up  to  use  every  right  effort  for  their  relief. 

In  social  life  they  have  it  in  their  power  to  discountenance,  if 
not  abolish,  many  of  what  iare  known  as  the  "  drinking  usages  of 
society,"  which  liave  so  often  proved  the  means  of  leading,  step 
by  step,  to  habitual  intemperance,  while  they  have  many  times 
seriously  hindered  the  poor  inebriate  who,  in  weakness,  is  strug 
gling  against  his  besetting  sin.  As  mothers,  we  need  only  re- 
mind them  of  the  tender  but  most  responsible  charge  which  lias 
been  committed  to  their  keeping;  the  importance  of  early  im- 
p'ressions  received  at  a  mother's  hands,  and  the  value  of  a 
mother's  prayers.  As  the  teachers  of  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  young  children  of  our  country,  may  they  wisely  employ 
the  golden  opportunity  thus  offered  for  imbuing  the  minds  of 


Conclusion.  15 

thoir  pupils  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  degrading  effects  of  intem- 
perance, as  well  as  the  delusive  character  of  those  allurements 
with  which  they  must  shortly  meet.  Thus  fortified,  may  we  not 
hopefully  believe  that  multitudes  from  among  the  children  of 
to-dny  will  be  training  to  take  their  places,  erelong,  in  that  great 
work  of  reform  to  which,  we  trust,  the  rising  generation  will  be 
found  devoting  its  best  energies. 

For  many  and  strong  reasons,  we  therefore  feel  that  women  are 
called  to  exert  their  influence,  which. is  so  powerful  for  good  or 
evil,  in  giving  a  higher  tone  to  public  sentiment  upon  a  subject 
in  which  they  are  deeply  interested.  We  cannot  but  believe,  that 
it  is  mainly  for  want  of  fully  appreciating  the  latent  power  which 
they  hold,  that  the  influence  of  female  minds  and  hearts  has  not 
been  more  largely  felt  in  this  direction.  Should  this  be  wisely 
put  forth,  as  we  trust  it  may  yet  be,  in  dealing  with  one  of  the 
most  alarming  problems  of  our  day,  the  results  for  good,  under 
the  Divine  blessing,  can  scarcelj^  be  overestimated. 


Conclusion. 

In  conclusion,  we  are  afresh  impre&sed  with  the  magnitude  of 
the  evil  we  have  been  considering,  as  it  presents  itself  in  its 
varied  aspects ;  and  under  the  conviction  that  its  source  is  deeply 
rooted  in  the  sinful  propensities  of  our  fallen  nature,  we  are  well- 
nigh  ready  to  exclaim,  "  Vain  is  the  help  of  mail !  "  Yet,  how- 
ever fortified  in  his  strongholds  the  liquor  dealer  may  be,  how- 
ever powerful  the  influence  he  wields,  by  the  unscrupulous  use  of 
his  unrighteous  gains,  there  is  encouragement  for  the  Christian 
laborer,  in  the  assurance  that  the  weapons  of  his  warfare  are 
mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  the  strongholds  of 
sin  and  Satan. 

Widely  extended  and  deeply  rooted  as  intemperance  is,  it  must 
ultimately  yield  to  the  peaceful  but  victorious  extension  of  Mes- 
siah's spiritual  kingdom.  .Encouraged  by  this  animating  belief, 
may  the  Church,  a  designed  agency  for  the  spread  of  this  king- 
dom, and  the  diffusion  of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel,  may  all 
who  occupy  positions  of  influence  in  civil  or  religious  society,  be 
incited,  in  the  meekness  and  gentleness  which  the  Gospel  inspires, 
and  with  a  love  for  the  souls  of  those  engaged  in  the  iniquitous 
traffic,  as  well  as  those  of  the  unhappy  victims  of  intemperance, 
to  earnest,  faithful  labor  for  the  removal  of  this  great  and  in 
creasing  evil  from  our  midst. 

We  do  not  doubt  many  are  earnestly  longing,  with  us,  that  the 


1 6  Conclusion. 

miseries  resulting  from  intemperance  may  be  stayed,  not  ojnly  {^or 
the  relief  of  those  who,  directly  or  indirectly  are  suffering  from 
them,  but  because  it  has  long  been  one  of  the  most  serious  ob 
stacles  to  the  promotion  of  vital  religion  among  mankind ;  and, 
as  we  remember  our  own  lielplessness  for  the  work,  let  our 
prayers  be  directed  to  the  "  God  and  Father  of  us  all,"  that, 
through  the  quickening  influences  of  His  OAvn  Holy  Spirit  upon 
the  hearts  of  men,  this,  with  every  other  obstacle  shall  be  re- 
moved, which  now  hinders  the  coming  of  that  promised  day, 
when  "  the  earth  shall  be.  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  as 
the  waters  cover  the  sea."     (Isaiah  xi.  9.) 


At  a  Meeting  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Religious  Society 
of  Friends  for  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  Delaware,  known 
as  the  "  Meeting  for  Sufiferings,"  held  at  Philadelphia  on  the  7th 
day  of  the  11th  month,  1879,  "  the  Committee  on  the  subject  of 
Intemperance,  appointed  in  the  6th  month  last,  now  produced 
an  Essay  of  an  Address  on  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks,  which 
was  adopted  by  the  Meeting,  and  referred  for  publication  and  dis- 
tribution to  the  Committee  that  prepared  it." 
Extracted  from  the  Minutes. 

Joseph  Walton,  Clerk. 


'7 


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